On the Set of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

We’ve been waiting patiently to reveal the details of the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince set we visited early last year and we can now finally tell you about our experiences on the sixth film.

In January 2008, ComingSoon.net was sent to London to hang out on the set for a day and chat with the cast. It was a chilly morning when we woke up around 7am to get ready, but we were so excited to see the set that it didn’t matter how cold it was. We bundled up and hopped on a shuttle to Leavesden Studios, which is about an hour outside of London.

When we arrived, we were greeted by the publicist of the movie and taken to the press area where it was decorated with the Weasley family Christmas tree decked out with various ornaments and beautifully-wrapped fake presents were placed underneath.

As we sipped on hot tea and munched on pastries, we eagerly checked out the room which was filled with other memorabilia such as a Death Eater mask that was a little creepy, but cool to see, Chinese lanterns from Horace Slughorn’s party along with his lilac-striped silk pajamas which just so happen to match a cozy looking chair, the memory vial cabinet and dressed on a mannequin was Harry Potter’s gray robe and suit which was paired with a dark burgundy shirt.

While the latest installment of the franchise has more adult humor and been called the most comical, it’s also considered to be the darkest movie out of all the “Potter” films.

“There’s the sense of foreboding around the exterior of the film which is Voldermort’s stronger, terrible things are happening in the outside world and Dumbledore is briefing Harry for a time when he won’t be here even though Harry’s not quite aware of that. They realize that not only is Voldemort invincible he’s seven times invincible,” producer David Barron explained.

In addition, the kids are growing up and discovering the opposite sex in a way that hasn’t been touched upon in the films before. The relationships become more romantic and complex.

Harry Potter will have some romance issues when he starts to see his longtime friend Ginny Weasley as more of a love interest, something that causes some problems with Ron.

When we talked to Daniel Radcliffe, he described his love scenes with Bonnie Wright as “slightly odd” because Ginny was always considered a friend of Harry’s until recently. Radcliffe explained that he never knew Wright was going to be a love interest so he was caught off guard a little. However, he told us he had a great time shooting the love scenes and hopes that comes across in the movie.

But, Potter isn’t the only one who will have romance issues. There’s a messy love triangle between Ron Weasley, Hermione and Lavender, who has made up her mind that Ron is the person for her.Hermione is rather upset about Lavender, but is determined not to let her feelings or jealousy show.

Newcomer Jessie Cave plays the overly-obsessed Lavender and talked to ComingSoon.net about her character. Dressed in her Quidditch costume complete with a huge scarf she’s wearing to show team spirit, Cave explained, “This is the morning of the big Quidditch match and she kisses Ron after. This is Lavender trying to look quite nice and girlie. She’s raring to go and support Gryffindor.”

Ron is finally getting some action in the “Potter” movies and the kissing scene with Cave has stirred up a lot of interest. So of course we had to ask Cave about it and she was very candid and hilarious when she described what it was like for her.

“It was very very funny because it was quite early on in the filming schedule. It went really really well. It was really quite funny because there was like 17 Gryffindor students as well and it’s quite a great scene because I’m on a raised box kind of sinking in. Everyone is cheering him because he’s done as well at this match. It was really good and really funny and it wasn’t too nerve-wracking.”

“After the first kiss it was fine and we did it quite a few times. By the end of the day I hope I didn’t hurt him,” Cave continued. I was more concerned about chipping a tooth. I was really worried. I think the first or second time I did go a bit too energetically into him,” the young actress confessed.

While Lavender may be really aggressive in going after Ron, Cave says she’s just the opposite.

“I would never be that forward with a boy. I would never be that obvious. I would never be that loud in my kind of pursuit so it’s quite fun to imagine I could be like that. I don’t think I would ever have that kind of guts… To an extent she gets what she wants for a very small period of time. I don’t think it’s successful to pursue someone in that way. I’m not very much like her at all.”

As to why she thinks her character has such a strong fixation on Ron, Cave isn’t sure, but she does tells us about the interaction she has with Hermione as a result.

“It’s quite volatile. As the character, I haven’t really looked Hermione in the eyes… For the most part; I’m trying not to acknowledge her which makes her quite angry.”

We also talked to Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Tom Felton, and Bonnie Wright. You can read those interviews using the links below!